Many moons ago, long before I went for a walk through the wilderness of my own soul and got a little lost, I used to share my testimony and all God had spoken to my heart, that He gave in order to heal and free me, on Myspace. During that time - when my old nature returned yet again and swamped my soul with timidity and a need to turn all focus from me, as it often does - I asked God if I could close my [second] site and what He whispered to my heart, from His, was, "They come to drink from your cup." In other words, many of those viewing my blogs were in need of what God had poured into my heart: HOPE.
I was reminded of that again this past Sunday, during the sermon* at church. I once again saw that we are the cup, and God is the one who fills it. We are not the 'drink' we are the cup. We are the vessel. The ones reading my blogs - indeed, the ones reading what I write on this site or any other I have - are/were not here to drink in my truth or my wisdom or anything I may conjure up in all my stumbling about, but to drink in God's.
Sometimes, we can allow ego to convince us that it is us the world needs. We can convince ourselves we are the important one in this picture. But that's not the case. We are simply the vessel God uses (and delights in using) to pass on all the hope, love, mercy and goodness that He invests into us.
From the moment you cried out to God, He has poured into your soul love, peace, hope, joy, a greater awareness of who He is, a greater awareness of your potential and abilities, and more, and He continues to do so to this very day - and beyond - as you allow Him to. Your soul is the cup. You are the cup. All that goodness that has entered your soul since you've dared to reach out to God and trust Him, is Him. He has poured Himself into you. He has picked you up out of the gutter of your life and given you a new hope, a new life, another chance - many chances - and He asks that you pass that forward; He asks that you let others drink from your cup.
Sometimes we believers fail to live up to our potential because we deem ourselves unworthy of God, of our calling, and of others. We focus so much on the shape of 'our cup' - or ourselves, and often devalue it. But our value lies in God's eyes. He has deemed us worthy to be a vessel. He has deemed us worthy to be His children and loves us with a passion, more than we can comprehend, and will one day return to take us Home, but while we're here on earth, He still seeks vessels/cups/hearts to reach out to others that are crying out to Him for help. He holds us in His hand and fills us up with His life force, His Spirit, and offers that to others to drink.
It does not matter if we (the cup) are formed out of gold, silver, clay or anything else. What matters is what God fills that cup/us up with, and whether or not we allow others to drink of it.
When you sing, when you greet someone, when you share your testimony, when you snap that photo and reflect beauty, when you bend down on your knee and wipe a tear from a child's eye, when you put pen to paper, when you go about your daily business, when you respond to friend or foe, the important thing is not what you look like, but the life force, hope and love that God pours out through you.
While listening to Steve Green's message last weekend, I realised that our part in all this is not to worry about the outcome, but to do the will of God. God says "go" we go. God says "love" we love. God says "forgive" we forgive. At least, that's how it should be, ay.
In doing God's will, our concern is the part we can do: Be the cup; Be the hands that reach out; Be the arms that hold; Do whatever God asks you to do - and He knows what you're called for and capable of better than man knows; for He formed you with His own hands... But as for the end result, as for how the person you're reaching out to responds, that is not your concern; that's God's. God says lay hands on the sick and they will be healed: Our part is the laying on of hands, the praying for; God's part is the healing. Pray, then get out of God's way.
We are the cup. We are the vessel. Treasured by God, but not what the world needs. What the world needs is God and His love, His truth, His healing Spirit, the life He offers all of us through Christ, and all the hope, joy, peace - and so much more - that He offers. We should be so filled with Him that these things overflow from us and splash onto others, giving them a taste of how wonderful and loving God is, but often we are too worried about how we look - especially if a prayer is not answered how we would've answered it - and the drink we then offer tastes bitter in the mouths of others.